1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hand-held lighting device (e.g., a flashlight), wherein light is radiated from a mantle which is heated to incandescence by the combustion of a gaseous fuel such as isobutane.
More particularly, the invention relates to a shock-absorbent mantle mounting assembly particularly adapted for use in such a hand-held lighting device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable lighting devices, for example lanterns, powered by a gaseous fuel and employing a mantle which is heated to incandescence by combustion of the fuel, are well known.
The mantles themselves are quite fragile, and this fragility has prevented such lighting devices from achieving the degree of portability and ruggedness which they might otherwise be capable of.
Mantles are frequently suspended, closed end down, from a burner tip by securing the open end of the mantle around the burner tip with a drawstring or the like.
Laguinia, U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,760, shows a cylindrical mantle tied at both its top and bottom to a spool-shaped fixture.
However, these known mantel mounting structures have not provided the degree of shock absorbtion necessary to enable a mantle to be employed in a truly portable lighting device, for example, a gas-powered flashlight.